FSBreak 38: From the Avsim Social 2009, and your E-Mails

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DATE : Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:26:26 +0000
Entered in Database : 2009-10-14 02:26:26
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Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, and Brendan Farmer. Listen Here: Download Here On Location at Avsim Social 2009 in Chicago, IL  It was a blast meeting up with everyone who showed at the Avsim.com Social event in Chicago this weekend. This episode was recorded with Eric and Danton, and Brendan joining as usual over Skype! Here are just a couple shots...A shot with many of the folks at the Fancon Event Danton and the setup at the hotel for recording the episode   Cirrus SR-22 & It's Glass Cockpit   Reminders Win up to TWO free downloads form Aerosoft, check out the mission design contest. We're still looking for everyone's $100 VOR Hamburger Screenshots, Post them here! Aircraft Painting Contest, Each Entry gets a free Aerosoft Download, Full Details Here!    E-Mails Hi In the last FSBreak podcast there was a discussion about using a three monitor setup, using the Matrox Triplehead2Go adapter, versus using a single large screen, like a big LCD TV. I'd like to take the opportunity to recommend the Triplehead solution. Here is a picture of my monitor setup: it's three Samsung 22 inch widescreen monitors running FSX in 5040 x 1050 resolution. I set it up recently, and I've been having a fantastic time using it. Just in terms of immersion, it really adds a lot to the flightsimming experience. Add to that having the Virtual cockpit really scaled up, so you can see all the gauges clearly, and the panoramic view of the scenery, it's really something special. There are some things to think about. The monitors have to run the same resolution. Mine are running 1680 x 1050, and that requires a monitor that supports 57hz screen refresh rate. While LCD monitors are very inexpensive at the moment, the adapter itself isn't cheap. I've heard that the new range of Eyefinity graphics cards from ATI will be able to do something similar, without using an adapter. On the widescreen gaming forum website, there is a section with lots of information on triplehead gaming: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com Anyway, just wanted to share my experience. Pharis Congratulations to everyone who did the hamburger flight on Vatsim this weekend. I wish I could have been by my computer Saturday to join you. I was able to carve out some FS time today however, and I just finished putting together a functional trim wheel.It ain't pretty, but it works great, and it's very cheap to throw together--maybe even free, depending on what you've got kicking around the house. Supplies: 1 coffee can 1 old USB mouse that was collecting dust (with scroll wheel) 1 wooden chopstick (free with order of Shanghai noodles) 1 small screw some scotch tape 1 free usb port To get this contraption functioning like a trim wheel, all you need to do is check the"use your mouse wheel as a trim wheel" function in the miscellaneous section of a registered copy of FSUIPC. If you don't have a registered copy of FSUIPC, you can download the free "RealTrim" module (http://code.google.com/p/fscode/wiki/RealTrim) and enable "mouse wheel as trim wheel" under the "modules" menu inside the sim.   The only glitch I had testing the trim wheel for the first time was that the trim wheel in the VC was turning in the opposite direction I was turning my coffee can lid. I solved this by installing a free program called "X-Mouse Button Control" (http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm), which includes an option for inverting mouse wheel scrolling.   Like I say, it may not be much to look at, but it really does work great, and having a trim wheel adds a lot to the simming experience. So if you've got an extra mouse, some other junk, and about 15 minutes to slap it together, give it a try.     I have only recently happened upon the podcast but I LOVE IT. I am an avid Uncontrolled Airspace listener and you guys fill that niche for the Flightsim world. I noticed that lately you guys have been "coming of age" on VATSIM...good for you! Your life is almost complete. I highly suggest taking a look at FSEconomy.com and would love to see a review of your crew's thoughts of it. Basically FSEconomy adds the ability to own, maintain, and operate aircraft, and FBOs within flightsim (FS9, FSX, X-Plane). The best part is that it is another layer that you can add to your flightsim experience, just like VATSIM. Best of all, it is 100% free. Here is a little blurb that I hope piques your interest: FSEconomy is a realistic economical environment for General Aviation flight simmers! You are a "pilot for hire", and you will use various aircraft to fly passengers and/or cargo (sometimes called "jobs" or "assignments") that are scattered throughout the flight simulator world. FSE does not simulate a "scheduled airline" type of environment, thus all available assignments appear randomly, and are destined to other random airpots. As an FSE pilot, you must choose the best available aircraft for the job given the assignment and revenue. You must either rent an aircraft or use one that you own. You can choose a career on your own or you can form a group of several pilots. Groups can collectively own an aircraft and share it amongst themselves to create a realistic business income. You can also rent your aircraft to other FSEconomy pilots and earn virtual money. In addition to aircraft, FSE players can choose to jump into the business world of FBO ownership. FBOs (or Fixed-Base Operator) sell fuel, provide aircraft maintenance services, sell avionics, and can operate a small passenger terminal.   FSEconomy consists of a website and a small software program that interacts with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 (FS8), 2004 (FS9), FSX or X-Plane 9. The website is where you find assignments, rent, buy, sell, and maintain your aircraft, manage your bank account, and join or start groups. The software program (called the 'Agent' or 'Client') is what is used to connect your Flight Simulator environment with the FSE database. It will detect that you have the correct aircraft at the correct airport, calculate the proper aircraft weight* to match the job, verify the assignment to be flown, adjust the fuel quantity in your aircraft to match what the database says it has onboard, and finally, log the results after the flight. (* Weight adjustment is optional but it will make the experience more lifelike based on your assignment. If you have 4 passengers to take on a flight then it will tell you what the aircraft weight should be to simulate those 4 passengers. This really helps you learn the difference weight makes, especially on the smaller planes.) FSEconomy has limitations of duplicating real life. Some compromises have to be made to allow comfortable interaction with Flight Simulator. The scope of FS Economy is: • Buying/Renting Aircraft • Buying goods • Aircraft maintenance • Landing fees • Fuel Cost • Paid assignments • Forming and managing flight groups • Building / owning an airport fuel and maintenance facility (FBO) I hope you consider checking out the site as well as considering it for a review. Cheers, ~Jason     I live in England and have been interested in aviation for 40 years, which I guess makes me one of your more mature listeners! I have been flight simming for 9 years and have recently started to learn to fly for real, thus fulfilling a life long ambition. I have listened to your podcasts from the beginning and find they add another dimension to my hobby. I find the mix of flight sim and real world flying matches my interests.   I have recently returned from a holiday in western Canada and was fortunate to have a flight in a de Havilland Beaver floatplane from Victoria Harbour. I have since reproduced the flight in FSX with the freeware scenery of Victoria which was referred to in a recent $100 hamburger flight. This proved a reasonable likeness to the actual flight, although I missed the reality of the radio transmissions, particularly the call from the pilot that he was going around as there was a fishing vessel in his way!- I don't often hear that at my local flying club!   I have a number of points which may be of interest- 1) I have recently bought the PMDG MD11. In the manual it refers to the defrag application from O&O. I downloaded a trial version of the programme and found that after using it, frame rates were dramatically improved- the standard Windows XP application does not have this effect. I am now considering buying the full version. I don't believe that you have discussed defragging on your show, but I have read a number of times that a regular defrag is necessary to keep FSX running smoothly.   2) Some time ago, one of your contributors talked about the imminent release of Captigame, an application for capturing video from games. I note from the Captigame website that the last news is dated April this year. Do you have any further information- is it still a goer?   3) On a recent episode, Mark mentioned the live atc website. You may be interested to know that there is an application called FS Chatter Live, available on flightsim.com, which acts as an interface between fsx and liveatc. I guess the advantage of this is that there is no need to open an internet browser, which on my machine drags down the frame rates. I note that it is shareware at a cost of $10 but am trialling the free demo version.   In conclusion, keep up the good work. I note that the shows are getting longer, but I guess you can't have too much of a good thing. However, as I tend to listen to podcasts in the car (I travel a lot with my job), I find myself hoping that I am held up on my way to clients- a reversal of my normal philosophy! Regards David   Can you guys recommend a good yoke to use on a MacPro? Did look at the new saitek Pro Flight yoke but it's windows only. BTW, I truly enjoyed the show after the swarm event. Thanks, Jerry   I enjoy yous show very much but only "stumbled" upon it a few weeks ago. When I go to the archives the several earliest shows that tried to listen to were all linked to episode 26. if you find some time could you remedy that situation? Thanks so much, Charles  Recommendations Eric: USA Sectional Charts High quality Sectional Charts of the United States. These are updated versions of charts that I uploaded several years ago. They are JPG files that can be viewed with any image viewing program and they have also been calibrated to import automatically into FSM Moving Map by Rana Hossain. Danton: A2A Sim3D Light Redux Brendan: Paint.NET for FS Repaints    

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